Mammals of Australia Australian Aboriginals had been accustomed to them for millennia, but early white explorers were amazed by what they found in Australia, and even today we are uncovering more and more remarkable facts about our mammals What is so odd about Australian mammals?

Australia is the only continent (and one of the only two countries - the other being New Guinea) in the world to still have all three of the major groups of mammals : monotremes, marsupials and placentals Half of Australia's mammal species are marsupials (South America has a few dozen species - all in the opossum family - and a couple of species have found their way into North America, but Australia is the only continent to have such a diverse range or to have marsupials as their most common and conspicuous land mammals) It is the only country in the world to have platypus, kangaroos (although New Guinea and some neighbouring islands do have wallabies), koalas, wombats, marsupial "moles" and numbats It is the only continent other than Antarctica to not have native hoofed animals, or terrestrial native Carnivora (dogs, bears, cats, weasels etc., but we do have seals and sea lions) - the dingo appears to have arrived from Southeast Asia only about 4,000 years ago, probably with Indonesian traders.

It is also the only continent to have rainforests but no monkeys Not only do we have mobs of great, two-legged hopping herbivores taking the place of deer and cattle, but we have a strange little furry creature that swims, lays eggs, give milk to its young, has a venomous spur, and uses electricity to find its prey, also small predators that revel in mating encounters only to have all males die of stress-related conditions within three weeks, a spiny but furry animal that develops a pouch shortly before laying an egg ....

and much more The world's three great groups of mammals: monotremes, marsupials and placentals are all found in Australia Monotremes - egg-laying mammals (nowadays found only in Australia and New Guinea) Marsupials - babies born in embryonic condition and kept firmly attached to a teat in a pouch or nestled behind a protective skin-flap while developing further Placentals - unborn young are nourished by a placenta (just to confuse things, some marsupials also have a placenta) and born at a more advanced stage, some still naked, blind and unable to walk for a week or two, others able to run on their day of birth The short answer is a vertebrate that gives milk to its young. A more detailed response is that a mammal: is a vertebrate animal (i.e.

has a 'backbone' of vertebrae protecting the central nervous system stemming from the brain, similar to birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish) gives milk to its young, produced from mammary glands (quite different from the 'milk' regurgitated from pigeons to their young) - this is unique in the animal kingdom is usually hairy (with a kind of hair not found in other animals, quite a difference substance from that of caterpillars or spiders for instance) - although a few such as whales and hippos do not have much hair has a lower jaw consisting of a single pair of bones (one of the ways we can tell if a fossil was a mammal) controls its body temperature ('warm-blooded') by a number of physiological means (similar to birds) and uses a diaphragm to contract and expand its lungs for breathing (similar to birds, reptiles and adult amphibians). Monotremes Monotremes lay eggs but give milk to their young, are covered in fur, and share other characteristics of marsupial and placental mammals. Their body temperature is lower, and they can when need arises allow it to drop considerably to slow down metabolism.

Their locomotion has reptilian qualities, and the adults have no teeth. The name means one opening, which refers to the cloaca (similar to that of birds and reptiles) through which the eggs are laid as well as waste products being eliminated. Platypus are found only in Australia, but we share echidna with New Guinea ( three species over there, including our species). The first platypus skin to be taken to England was simply not believed - skeptics were convinced it was the work of a skilled taxidermist stitching various other animal parts together. And that was only because of its bizarre appearance. No one yet knew that this furry, milk-giving animal also laid eggs ( that discovery was to cause further furore , although Aboriginals had long known this fact), that the male had a venomous spur (making it the only known venomous mammal in the world), that they have the highest rate of REM sleep of any mammal, or that they seek their prey not by sight but by using their rubbery bill which is sensitive to electrical and other vibrations from the muscles of aquatic crustaceans, insects and other small creatures.

The white you see around the eyes when they forage are small patches of white fur - the eyes are closed while diving and pursuing prey. The echidna, though often mistakenly called a porcupine or thought of as an aberrant hedgehog, is no less strange. It also lays eggs although furry and milk-giving, and the female develops a pouch while pregnant - the young live there until they become too prickly! The long rubbery bill is a similar substance to that of the platypus bill, and is used in procuring ants and termites from their nests. There is just one species in Australia, found also in New Guinea along with a further one to three species, depending which taxonomy is accepted (most commonly accepted nowadays seems to be dividing the long-beaked echdina into thee species - western, eastern and Attenborough's (or Sir David's)). Males (which incidentally have a strange, four-pronged penis) may sometimes be seen in the breeding season (winter) forming a 'love-train' in pursuit of a female, and soon both sexes start digging small trenches to facilitate mating.

That Steropodon galmani was a monotreme that lived amongst the dinosaurs in the early Creatceous, suggesting the group evolved within the Australian section of Gondwana in the Jurassic - they have certainly been in Australia a long time! There have also been fossilised platypus (different species to today's) found in Argentina - not surprising as Australia, Antarctica and Australia were still joined during the Cretaceous. They may have also had relatives in Madagascar, but fossil records are scarce and this hypothesis does not seem to currently hold much favour. It is thought that the echidna lineage evolved in Australia from platypus-like ancestry. Marsupials Marsupial young are born t a very elementary stage of development. This seems a but hard on Junior, but it's good for Mum - no long and heavy pregnancy. The tiny newborn - with mouth and arms well-developed but not much else - must climb all the way to the nipple and attach for the next few weeks.

There are also skeletal differences that are used to distinguish marsupial fossils from placentals Four orders of marsupial are now generally recognised in Australia and another two in South and Central America (opossums - one of which has reached North America - and shrew-opossums) The four orders of Australian marsupials are: Carnivorous marsupials: Tasmanian devils and their kin, plus the numbat and the now-extinct Thylacine Bandicoots and Bilbies Herbivorous marsupials: koala, wombat, possums, kangaroos and kin Marsupial "mole" (just one species - but strange enough to earn an order of its own) Carnivorous marsupials: (Dasyuromorphia) Tasmanian devils, quolls, dunnarts (the mouse-sized predator pictured to the right) and other members of family Dasyuridae have many sharp teeth on both upper and lower jaws, and relatively simple feet (compared with herbivorous marsupials).

Most species are rat-sized or smaller and all are nocturnal, so most Australian residents do not even notice their existence, except that ion some country areas the mouse-sized antechinuses enter houses in search of insects or winter warmth, and the larger phascogales (squirrel-size) or quolls (large cat-size) occasionally help themselves to chickens. The introduced cane toad is a serious threat to these larger species. The smaller members of the family go into a kind of frenzy of fighting (males) and mating in early spring, the couple staying physically coupled and active for several hours, then within the month all males die of stress-related disorders while the female lives on to raise her brood. The numbat has similar feet and basically similar dental structure but with highly reduced teeth due to specialisation for its diet of ants and termites.This attractive, alert and delightful little animal is sufficiently different to have a family of its own, and is now regrettably endangered, and confined to the south-west corner of Australia The wolf-like thylacine was also sufficiently different to have a family of its own. According to the fossil record there were several species, just one remaining by the time Aboriginals arrived in Australia.

After the dingo arrived (probably brought in by Indonesian traders around 3000 years ago) the thylacine became extinct on the mainland, but was still going strong in Tasmania, until white settlers arrived and found it was eating their chickens and sheep. By the time legislation was passed to protect it, it was too late, and the last known individual, Benjamin, died in captivity in 1936, on September 7th, a day that is now remembered each year as Threatened Species Day. Bandicoots and Bilbies (Peramelemorphia) This order appears to be half-way between the carnivorous and herbivorous groups in two ways: their diet is omnivorous - insects, fungi, roots etc. their teeth resemble those of the carnivorous marsupials but their hind feet have the syndactyly of the herbivorous marsupials (see below) Some bandicoot species are common, even appearing in suburban backyards, but others are threatened, by habitat loss, competition with rabbits, and predation by foxes and cats There were two species of the strange, rabbit-eared bilbies.

The lesser bilby has not been seen since the 1960's and is probably extinct, but the greater bilby , while till endangered, is now the subject of some very active campaigns to protect it. Herbivorous marsupials (Diprotodontia) This group is united by the following features: only one pair of incisors in the lower jaw syndactyly - the second and third toe of the hind foot being joined into a two-clawed grooming comb (they share this with the bandicoots and bilbies) This herbivorous order includes: Koala Kangaroos, wallabies and pademelons There is no sharp zoological division between kangaroos and wallabies. The three largest species were called kangaroos and most of the others are called wallabies regardless of how closely related they are to the species known as kangaroos.

The red kangaroo is very wide ranging in inland areas, from woodlands through to deserts The eastern grey kangaroo (pictured) is the only kangaroo seen on the east coast (and the only one in Tasmania), but is also found as far west as south-eastern South Australia in the outback The western grey kangaroo is found from Australia's south-west coast through to western Queensland, western Victoria and western New South Wales, their range thus overlapping with the eastern grey. They are darker and browner in colour than the eastern grey. Next in size to the kangaroos but still in the same genus (Macropus, meaning 'big foot') are two species of wallaroo (as though someone couldn't decide whether to call them kangaroos or wallabies) and the euro. Several wallabies are also in the same genus, and would have been called kangaroos if they had been big enough (thus there is no sharp scientific division between the terms 'kangaroo' and 'wallaby.' Pictured to the right is a red-necked wallaby, in the genus Macropus.

There are several other wallabies belonging to separate genera, such as the swamp wallaby, the nail-tailed wallabies, the hare-wallabies and the rock-wallabies (pictured to the left is the brush-tailed rock-wallaby). Tree kangaroos are true members of the kangaroo family (but not in the kangaroo genus) that have adapted to life in the trees in the rainforests of far north Queensland and New Guinea. There used to be more species in Australia in the geological past when rainforests were more extensive, and nowadays we have have only two, while several species still occur in New Guinea. They hop like 'normal' kangaroos along the branches and on the ground. Pademelons are small wallabies of the east coast living in dense forests that would impede the leaping ability of some of the larger species. Quokkas are wallabies from the south-west of Australia, nowadays mostly on Rottnest Island near Perth Conservation note: A number of species of small wallaby are now threatened because of habitat destruction and feral predators (the kangaroos and larger wallabies are locally threatened in some areas but the species are nowhere near as endangered as some of these smaller wallabies).

Potoroos, bettongs and rat-kangaroos These are small relatives of kangaroos and wallabies, possibly a similar size to the early kangaroo ancestors about 15 million years ago. The musky rat kangaroo is one of the few marsupials active during daylight hours, and is found in the tropical rainforests of far north Queensland, where it is an important disperser of seeds. They have prehensile tails, with which they carry foods and nesting material. The desert rat-kangaroo (not closely related to the musky) was by contrast an animal of extreme arid lands of the outback but is now probably extinct. Potoroos (see photo to left) are found in rainforests and eucalypt forests, and are important dispersers of miccorhyzal fungi (fungi which live in a symbiotic relationship with roots of forest trees: they process certain minerals in such a way as to make them much easier for the roots to absorb, and in turn get structural support from the roots). There were three species but now only two.

There are several species of bettongs (some endangered), collectively found throughout Australia but each restricted to particular habitats Possums and gliders There are four "super-families" of diprotodont marsupials collectively containing the families of animals we collectively call possums (none of which resemble the opossums of the Americas - a totally different group of marsupials) : * Pygmy possums (Burramyoidea) * Ring-tail possums, striped possum, Leadbeaters possum and several gliding possums (Petauroidea) * Brush-tail possums, cuscuses and scaly-tailed possum (Phalangeroidea) * Honey possum and feather-tailed glider (Tarsipedoidea: some dispute the close relationship of these species) Wombats There are three species of wombat - the common wombat found in south-eastern Australia including Tasmania, and two much rarer species, the southern hairy-nosed wombat of outback South Australia and the highly-endangered northern hairy-nosed wombat of outback Queensland (which used to also be found in parts of New South Wales but is now extinct there).

They are powerful burrowers, and live mainly on grasses. An oddity is their droppings, which are cubic - this appears to be so that a wombat can leave a deposit to mark his territory on new objects that appear within it - a deposit that will not roll off as readily as a round one would. Koala The closest living relatives of the koala are the wombats (turn a wombat 90 degrees, put it in a tree and give it fluffy ears and it would almost look like one). It is unusual for a tree-climbing animal to lack a tail, so it seems probable that the ancestors of both were ground-dwelling animals, and the koala secondarily moved back into the trees. In the geological past there were several species of koala, but there is now only one, although there are a few different races. They have a very restrictive diet, eating only the leaves of Eucalyptus and Corymbia species (Corymbia are so similar to Eucalyptus that until recent years they were include in the same genus), and not just any species even of these.

Eucalypt leaves are difficult to get all one's nourishment from - they have low levels of nitrogen, they have many indigestible chemicals, and only the young leaves are tender. There are only a couple of dozen species koalas regularly eat, and in any particular area within Australia there are usually less than half a dozen species the koalas will eat. Marsupial "mole" (Notoryctemorphia) This odd little animal is sufficiently different from other marsupials to have a whole taxonomic order to itself. It looks remarkably like the golden mole of Africa, and behaves in a somewhat similar way, but they are not at all closely related: they just have very similar lifestyles and have adapted in similar ways (but of course the golden mole is a placental, its young are thus born at a more advanced stage and they are not kept in a pouch). The marsupial 'mole' (since we don't yet seem to have a better common name for it) has a beautiful golden coat but is seldom seen, as it spends most of its time underground in remote areas of the outback. Placentals Australia has NO native placental carnivores (i.e.

cats, dogs, bears, raccoons etc - the dingo, now known as "Australia's wild dog", was introduced about 3000 years ago), NO native hoofed animals (deer, goats etc.) NO primates (monkeys and apes) and indeed NO native placentals except those listed below The native placentals we DO have are: whales and dolphins Bats Because they could fly, bats reached Australia quite early - at least 50 million years ago, and about a quarter of all native Australian mammal species are bats. Bats belong to two sub orders which are similar in having their fingers greatly extended and modified for flight but differ in some important ways: megabats (do not echo-locate but use sight, sound and smell in much the same way as most other mammals, usually eat fruit or nectar or both, and found from Africa to the South-west Pacific), microbats (echo-locate, usually eat insects, found on all continents). There is no evidence of the megabats being in Australia for more than about a million years.

Megabats These include the flying foxes (fruitbats:pictured above), the blossom bats and the tube-nosed bats, found in northern and eastern Australia. Because they do not echo-locate they do not need the elaborate nose-leaves and large ears the microbats usually have, but instead have more typically mammalian faces, leading to the common names 'flying fox' in English and 'flughund' in German. Their diet consists of fruit and nectar, some species favouring one more than the other. Microbats There are six families in Australia, and although some species are rare, collectively the microbats are very common throughout Australia, often a dozen or more species being found in any one locality. They are not, however, 'interchangeable.' Some prefer more open habitats to others, some forage above the canopy and others below, some catching insects from the water, some eating small vertebrates as well as insects, some able to keep hunting during winter while others can't, etc. Some sleep in caves, others in vegetation or old bird nests.

Rodents About a quarter of all native Australian mammal species are rodents (which comes as a surprise to many suburban Australians who usually only see the introduced rodent species). Three of the world has a higher proportion - about half the world's mammal species are rodents, but they entered Australia relatively recently, when Australia and New Guinea drifted close enough to south-east Asia for temporary land bridges to form). In Australia all native rodents are in the rats-and-mice family (i.e. there are no squirrels, porcupines, beavers etc. native to Australia). The ancestors of the native rats and mice appear to have arrived in Australia around 4 million years ago and have diversified since then into many different species, especially in drier regions (although several species are very common in our rainforests). Seals and sea lions Fur seals and sea-lions belong to the family Otariidae, and have visible ears. Two species of fur seals breed in Australia, and another two on Sub-Antarctic islands The Australian sea-lion is found only in Australia. Dugong The dugong is closely related to the manatees, and although a sea-dweller it is more closely related to elephants than to seals or whales.

It is unique amongst marine mammals in being entirely herbivorous. It is found from the coastal waters near Brisbane northwards, around the northern tropical waters and down the west coast to a point roughly level with Brisbane. It's numbers are regrettably declining. Whales and dolphins Several species of dolphin inhabit waters around Australia, the most common being the bottle-nosed dolphin Several shales migrate along the Australian coasts in winter, coming up from Antarctica to breed in warmer waters. The most commonly-seen in the south is the right whale, the most common on more northerly coasts being the humpback whale. References and links The Australian Museum Complete Book of Australian Mammals (Angus & Robertson, 1983) edited by R. Strahan has long been the standard reference to mammals of Australia. 'Mammals of Australia' by R. Strahan is a revision of this important document. Other books on Australian mammals include: Bryden, M. Marsh, H. and Shaughessy, P. (1998). Dugongs, Whales, Dolphins and Seals: a Guide to the Sea Mammals of Australia. Allen and Unwin, St Leonards Cronin, L.

1991. Key Guide to Australian Mammals. Reed Books Australia Hall, L. S. and Richards, G. C. 1979. Bats of Eastern Australia. Queensland Museum, Brisbane Johnson, P. 2003. Kangaroos of Queensland. Queensland Museum, Environmental Protection Agency of Queensland, With the generous support of Packers Associated Tanners Pty Ltd. Ride, W. D. L. 1970. A Guide to the Native Mammals of Australia. Oxford University Press, Melbourne Slater P. First Field Guide to Australian Mammals. Steve Parish Publishing. Slater P. Amazing Facts about Australian Mammals, Volume 2. Discover and Learn about Australia, Steve Parish (for children) Strahan, R. 1987. What Mammal is That? Angus and Robertson, Sydney Triggs, B. 1996. Tracks, Scats and Other Traces: a Field Guide to Australian Mammals.

Oxford University Press, Qld (very useful if the mammals themselves are not actually seen) See also these references to Australian mammal books The Australian Mammal Society was founded in 1958 to promote scientific study of the mammals of the Australian region. See also the Australian Museum's comprehensive pages on Australian mammals 1000+ images about Numbat's on Pinterest | Zoos, Australia and It is The numbat, also known as the banded anteater, or walpurti, is a marsupial found in Western Australia. Its diet consists almost exclusively of termites See More Animal Info - Numbat Animal Info - Numbat (Other Names: Banded Anteater, Hormiguero Marsupial, Marsupial Anteater, Walpurti) Myrmecobius fasciatus ( Terrambiente ) The numbat is a small terrestrial marsupial adapted to feed exclusively on termites. It is diurnal , being more active in the morning and late afternoon during the summer and in the middle of the day during the fall. Numbats usually shelter in fallen hollow logs or dead tree trunks and sometimes in burrows.

Currently, the numbat inhabits woodland with grassy, herbaceous or shrub understory. It lives in family groups for part of the year; however, adults forage alone. When Europeans first settled the continent, the numbat was widespread across southern semi-arid and arid Australia , from western New South Wales through South Australia and southern Northern Territory to the southwest of Western Australia. Its numbers have declined severely since the beginning of European settlement. Its range had shrunk to the southwest of Western Australia by the 1960's. As of 1996 it occurred in two remnant populations and one self-sustaining reintroduced population in the southwest of Western Australia. Reasons for the decline of the numbat include introduced predators such as foxes and the clearing of land for agriculture, which eliminates dead and fallen trees which can be used for shelter and from which termites can be obtained. Another factor could have involved the cessation of Aboriginal fire regimes, especially in arid grasslands. Tidbits *** The numbat eats up to 20,000 termites daily. *** It is the only marsupial that is not at least partly nocturnal . Its diurnal behavior pattern reflects termite behavior patterns.

*** In 1974 it was selected as the State Animal of Western Australia . Status and Trends Countries Where the Numbat Is Currently Found: 2004: Occurs in Australia (southwestern Western Australia) ( IUCN 2004 ). History of Distribution: The numbat was once distributed over 25% of the Australian continent. When Europeans first settled the continent, it was widespread across southern semi-arid and arid Australia , from western New South Wales through South Australia and southern Northern Territory to the southwest of Western Australia. It did not occur on islands. Its numbers have declined severely since the beginning of European settlement. The South Australia population probably was extinct by 1923. Its range had shrunk to the southwest of Western Australia by the 1960's. By the late 1980's, only two colonies were left in the wild, west of Ongerup and south of York. In 1990 it was found in the Dryandra State Forest, the Perup Management Priority Area (east of Manjimup), and had recently been discovered in several suburbs south of Perth, all in the southwestern portion of Western Australia.

As of 1996 it occurred in the two remnant populations and one self-sustaining reintroduced population in the southwest of Western Australia. ( Maxwell et al. 1996 ) Threats and Reasons for Decline: Reasons for the numbat's decline include introduced predators such as foxes and the clearing of land for agriculture, which eliminates dead and fallen trees which can be used for shelter and from which termites can be obtained. Another factor could have involved the cessation of Aboriginal fire regimes, especially in arid grasslands. The smaller, controlled fires started by Aborigines reduced the incidence of larger, more devastating bushfires which could wipe out the numbat's habitat, food source and shelter. Data on Biology and Ecology The numbat weighs 280 - 550 g (10 - 20 oz). Habitat: The numbat formerly occurred in semi-arid and arid woodlands (Eucalyptus and Acacia) and grasslands. It is now restricted to eucalyptus woodlands at the wettest periphery of its former range. Young are born between January and March.

Birth Rate: There are 2 - 4 young per litter, and 1 litter per year. Early Development: After birth, young attach themselves to the nipples of the female, which does not have a pouch. In July or August the mother deposits the young in a burrow, suckling them at night. By October, the young are half grown and are feeding on termites themselves while remaining in their parents' area. They disperse in early summer (December) after remaining in their parents' territory for at least 9 months. Maximum Age: Captives have lived for at least 6 years (female) and 5 years (male). Diet: The numbat eats termites almost exclusively. They are obtained from rotten logs, dead trees, and subsurface soil. Despite its alternate names of banded or marsupial anteater, it only occasionally eats ants, apparently accidentally (most of the ants consumed are of small predatory species that rush in when the numbat uncovers a termite nest and are lapped up along with the termites). Social Organization: The numbat lives in family groups for part of the year; however, adults forage alone. The numbat is territorial .

Density and Range: Numbat Numbat Numbat (Myrmecobius fasciatus) The Numbat is a small slender mammal, with a small pointed head and small upright ears, four short legs with long claws and a long bushy tail. They are grey-brown to reddish in colour with black and white banding on their back and rump, beige under belly and a long black stripe across the eye. With their long slender tongue (10-11cm) they forage in narrow cavities in logs, leaf litter and small holes for termites. They do not have propper teeth like other mammals, only blunt pegs because they do not chew their food. Consumming up to 20,000 termites a day - they do not need to drink water because they get all the moisture they need from the termites. Numbats do not have a pouch to carry their young, they have skinfolds that cover their babies that are suckling on the mother's four teats. Long guard hairs offer some warmth to the young in the pouch. They are solitary animals, which means they do not live with other members of their species.

The only time you see Numbats together is when they come together to mate. The females are around 12 months of age to be able to breed and the males around 2 years. Mating season is December - January and the gestation period is only 14 days. The average amount of young born to one female is four and they are born very underdeveloped and must travel to the mother's nipples to attach if they are to survive. Baby numbats suckle until they are nine months old which is when they learn to forage and eat termites. You will find Numbats living in Eucalypt Woodlands in the south west of Western Australia where old fallen trees provide hollow logs for shelter, nest sites and foraging opportunities. The trees provide protection from birds of prey and other predators like foxes, cats and native reptiles. Habitat destruction also threatens Numbats when woodland is cleared for farming, developing, mining and for peoples homes. There are fewer than 1000 Numbats left in the wild. This is less than the number of Orangutans in Sumatra and even less than the number of Giant Pandas in Asia.

If you are lucky enough to see a Numbat in your travels, please contact the Department of Environment and Conservation.

Numbat (Myrmecobius Fasciatus) - Animals - A-Z Animals Five groups that classify all living things Animalia A group of animals within the animal kingdom Chordata A group of animals within a pylum Mammalia A group of animals within a class Dasyuromorphia A group of animals within an order Myrmecobiidae A group of animals within a family Myrmecobius Comprised of the genus followed by the species Myrmecobius Fasciatus The animal group that the species belongs to Mammal What kind of foods the animal eats Omnivore How long (L) or tall (H) the animal is 35-45cm (13-18in) The measurement of how heavy the animal is 280-550g (9.9-19oz) The fastest recorded speed of the animal 24km/h (15mph) How long the animal lives for 4-8 years Whether the animal is solitary or sociable Sociable The likelihood of the animal becoming extinct Endangered The colour of the animal's coat or markings Black, Brown, Grey, White, Tan, Red The protective layer of the animal Fur The

 specific area where the animal lives Eucalyptus woodland and grassland The average number of babies born at once 4 Other animals that hunt and eat the animal Snakes, Foxes, Birds of Prey Special Features: Long tail and snout and striped body Numbat Location Map of Oceania Numbat The numbat is a small-sized marsupial that is found in Western Australia .

The numbat has long, colourful fur and despite being a marsupial, the female numbat does not have a pouch on her belly. The numbat was once found across Southern Australia , but today the numbat is considered to be an endangered species as there are only a few small numbat colonies found in Western Australia today. It has been estimated that there are only 1,500 numbat individuals left in the wild. Numbats inhabit forests and woodland, particularly those that are mainly made up of eucalyptus trees. Numbats have also been found in grasslands that are relatively close to water. Numbats are solitary animals with large home ranges , which they spend the daylight hours hunting for termites and in the dark nights in hollow logs and burrows. Numbats have strong front claws and long tongues which they use to get termites out of their nests. The numbat is an omnivorous animal but it's diet primarily consists of termites and occasionally ants and other small insects . An adult numbat can eat more than 20,000 termites in just one day.

Due to their small size , numbats are prey to a number of larger, predatory animals such as foxes, snakes , dingos and feral cats . Dogs also prey on numbats , along with birds of prey that prey on the smaller numbat babies. The numbat breeding season is between January and May, when the female numbat gives birth to an average of 4 numbat babies after a gestation period of just a couple of weeks. The numbat babies quickly attach to the mother numbat's teat, where they are protected only by her long hair, as she does not have a pouch. Numbat babies are not left by their mother until they are a few months old, when she leaves to search for food. The mother numbat leaves her young in a burrow and comes back to give them milk every now and again. Share This Article Australian Animals - Tourism Australia Load More Mammals Australia’s mammalian wildlife is unique from the rest of the world. The dingo, or wild dog, is our largest carnivorous mammal, while the numbat, quoll and Tasmanian devil are each generally the size of an average house cat.

Dingoes can be found all around Australia, except for Tasmania, and the best places to spot them include Queensland’s Fraser Island , the Kimberley in Western Australia and across the deserts of the Northern Territory and South Australia. Numbats are found only in Western Australia and the Tasmanian devil can only be seen in wildlife parks or in the Tasmanian wilderness. Endangered quolls are difficult to spot in the wild, but inhabit the wet forests of southeastern Australia and Tasmania, and a small area of northern Queensland. The bilby can be seen in Francois Peron National Park in Western Australia. Marsupials Australia has more than 140 species of marsupials, including kangaroos, wallabies, koalas, and wombats. Our 55 different native species of kangaroos and wallabies vary greatly in size and weight, ranging from half a kilogram (1 pound) to 90 (198.4 pounds) kilograms. Come face to face with kangaroos and wallabies in Namadgi and Kosciuszko National Parks in the Australian Alps , Pebbly Beach in New South Wales and Tasmania’s Freycinet National Park .

Despite popular belief, our native koala is not a bear. Spot koalas at Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve near Canberra, Port Stephens in New South Wales and the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary in Queensland. The wombat is another creature you’ll find here – a stout, burrowing animal that can weigh up to 36 kilograms (79.4 pounds). Some of the best places to see them in the wild are the Blue Mountains National Park in New South Wales, Wilsons Promontory in Victoria and Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park in Tasmania. Monotremes Another animal group found only in Australia is the monotremes, or egg-laying mammals. The most distinctive is the platypus, a river-dwelling animal with a bill like a duck, a furry waterproof body and webbed feet. Platypuses live in burrows, which they dig into the banks of rivers. They are difficult to spot, but your best chance to see them is in small streams and calm rivers along the east coast, such as the Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve near Canberra, Lake Elizabeth in Victoria’s Great Otway National Park and in northern New South Wales and Queensland.

The echidna, otherwise known as the spiny anteater, is another of Australia’s monotremes. It has a prickly coat like a hedgehog or porcupine – so don’t try to pick one up! Kangaroo Island is one of the best places to spot them in the wild. Birds We have more than 800 species of birds in Australia, and about half cannot be found anywhere else. They range from tiny honeyeaters to the large, flightless emu, which stands nearly two metres (6.6 feet) tall. See cassowaries in our tropical rainforest, kookaburras in our open woodlands and emus in sclerophyll forests and savanna woodlands. Get up close to penguins on Kangaroo Island in South Australia and Philip Island in Victoria , or hear the winter call of the lyrebirds in Wollumbin National Park and in the Gondwana Rainforests in southeast Queensland. There are 55 species of parrots in Australia, including a spectacular variety of cockatoos, rosellas, lorikeets, cockatiels, parakeets and budgerigars, which are seen in rural and urban areas.

Reptiles Australia has more venomous snakes than any other continent, 21 of the world’s 25 deadliest in fact. But not all are poisonous, and we also have some stunning pythons and tree snakes. We are famous for our crocodiles, and host two different species, the freshwater crocodile, which is found nowhere else in the world, and the estuarine crocodile (also known as the saltwater crocodile). The Kimberley, Kakadu National Park and Cape York Peninsula are excellent places to see crocodiles in their natural habitat. Of the seven species of marine turtles in the world, six can be found here including the flatback turtle, green turtle, hawksbill turtle, leatherback turtle, loggerhead turtle and olive ridley turtle. The best spots to see turtles are Ningaloo Reef in Western Australia and Eco Beach in Broome . We also have an amazing array of lizards, ‘dragons’ and goannas (monitor lizards), such as the spectacular frilled-neck lizard and bearded dragon. Thorny devils can be found in Western Australia’s desert habitats, Shark Bay, Carnarvon and Exmouth.

Marine animals Our marine environments support around 4,000 of the world’s 22,000 types of fish, as well as 30 of the world’s 58 seagrass species. We also have the world’s largest coral reef system, the World Heritage-listed Great Barrier Reef , where there are countless species of colourful fish, including the beautiful clownfish seen in Finding Dory. We also have around 1,700 different species of coral. Larger marine species include the humpback, southern right and orca whales, the dugong (or manatee), several dolphin species and a number of different sharks. Catch a glimpse of the whales during their migration along the east coast from May to November, or swim with gentle whale sharks on Ningaloo Reef in Western Australia. Kangaroo Island is one of the best places to see beautiful Australian fur seals in the wild. More On Australian Animals Australian Animals Australian Animals The Unique Animals Of Australia Some Australian animals are extremely unique and special but when you grow up here you don't realise that, of course.

Growing up in the outback around Tibooburra New South Wales we saw a lot of them but we didn't really see anything special about them.... To us they were just something we saw every day. As kids growing up in the bush we all knew to keep away from the snakes, if you saw one... (and we often did!).... We also knew from an early age not to mess with the lizards either as one of our brothers had a lizard latch on to his finger and had a hard time getting the bugger to let go! Our father taught us a healthy respect for all animals There are variety of species unique to Australia ... everyone in the world knows what an Australian Kangaroo looks like, and who doesn't love the Koala? or isn't a little freaked out by the Platypus and then there's the cute little Bilby, the adorable Quokka, and, of course our Snakes and Lizards, which most Aussie's are secretly proud of.... even if they say different! Since mankind's existence in Australia a lot of different animals have been introduced and are now roaming around feral ... animals like the Camel, the Rabbit and the hideous Cane Toad.

The first introduced animal was the Dingo which has been here for thousands of years. The European settlers deliberately released many different animals into the Australian native bush. Other domestic animals have escaped and now have large populations roaming the Australian outback ... all of which are creating problems for our native Australian animals. Click on each of the links below to discover more about our wonderful Australian animals Australian Bilby The Bilby is one of our cutest Australian animals. Bilbies used to cover about 70% of the Australian mainland but the introduction of new predators, such as feral cats and foxes, and land clearance has caused a dramatic decline in their numbers and their range. In fact, one species, the Lesser Bilby is believed to be extinct, with the last record of it being in the 1930's, the other, the Greater Bilby, survives but remains endangered. Read more about the Bilby Camels in Australia Camels in Australia are Dromedary Camels. Thousands of camels were imported into Australia between 1840 and 1907.

Australian Camels have a wide range, from South Australia through the Northern Territory and well into Western Australia, there have also been Camels reported in Northern New South Wales and Queensland. Australia has the worlds largest population of feral Camels and are the only feral herds of their kind in the world. Read more about Australian Camels Cane Toads in Australia The Cane Toad was introduced into northern Queensland, Australia in 1935, to control the beetles that were destroying the sugar cane crops. About 100 Cane Toads were shipped here from Hawaii. They failed to control the cane beetles, and became and continue to be a major pest themselves. Since then, the range of Cane Toads has grown quite alarmingly through Australia's north. Read more about the Cane Toad Australian Crocodiles There are two types of Australian Crocodile, the Australian Freshwater or Johnston Crocodile and the Australian Estuarine or Saltwater Crocodile. The Freshwater Crocodile or Johnston Crocodile is considered to be dangerous even though it is not known for attacking humans. It grows up to 3 metres long.

Read more about Australian Freshwater Crocs The Saltwater Crocodile or Estuarine Crocodile is one of the most dangerous of all the crocodile family and the largest living reptile in the world. It grows to between 4 and 7 metres long. Read more about the Australian Saltwater Croc Australian Dingo The Dingo is Australia's wild dog. Dingoes are an introduced species - opinions on when the Dingo came to Australia vary greatly, and range from 15,000 to 2,000 years ago. Dingoes are found on the mainland of Australia but about a third of all wild Dingoes in the south east of the continent are Dingo/domestic dog crosses. The Dingo normally weighs between 10kg and 24kg, they stand between 44cm and 63cm high to the shoulder. Read more about the Dingo Echidna The Short-beaked Echidna is one of the most wide spread Australian animals and is the only species of Echidna in Australia. The Short-beaked Echidna, along with the Platypus, is a member of the monotreme family (mammals that lay eggs).

The echidna is shy and moves slowly and carefully, if it feels threatened or is disturbed it will dig its way into the ground leaving only its spines visible.The Short-beaked Echidna is common and widespread. Read more about the Echidna Grey Kangaroo The Kangaroo is the most well known of all Australian animals. There are approximately 63 living species of Kangaroo. These include the Eastern and Western Grey, Wallabies, Wallaroos and Tree-Kangaroos. The Kangaroo is a marsupial mammal. Read more about one of our great Australian animals ... the Grey Kangaroo Red Kangaroo The Red Kangaroo is the largest of all the Kangaroos. The male can be 2 metres tall and weigh 90kg. They are also the largest mammal in Australia and the largest living marsupial in the world. Read more about the Red Kangaroo Tree Kangaroo The Tree Kangaroo is a marsupial and like all marsupials, the Tree Kangaroo has a pouch. There are around 10 species of Tree Kangaroo most of which are found in New Guinea.

The two species that are found in Australia are; Lumholtz's Tree Kangaroo and Bennett's Tree Kangaroo. The Australian Tree Kangaroos are found in rainforest areas of Queensland. Read more about the Tree Kangaroo Koala The Koala is one of the most loved of the Australian animals. Early settlers called them a Bear, and they are sometimes still referred to as the Koala Bear, although they are not a member of the Bear family. The Koala is a marsupial mammal. Read more about the Koala Australian Lizards Lizards of different kinds are found all over Australia but more frequently in the desert area and the tropical woodlands of northern Australia. There are more Lizards in Australia than anywhere else in the world - with over 520 species to be found in our great country. The main family varieties are Monitor Lizards, Geckos, Dragon Lizards, Skinks and Legless Lizards - also known as Snake Lizards. Read more about Australian Lizards Numbat The Numbat is also known as the Banded Anteater and Walpurti and is a unique looking Australian animal. Before European settlement they were found over a lot of Australia.

The Numbat is a carnivorous marsupial. Read more about the Numbat Platypus The Platypus is one of the strangest Australian animals. It lays eggs instead of giving birth to live young. Often called the Duck Billed Platypus because of its Bill. The Platypus is one of only a few venomous mammals. Read more about the Platypus Possum The Leadbeaters Possum are very rarely seen. They are small, agile and move fast, often leaping from tree to tree. They live in small family colonies and the females are dominant. The Leadbeaters Possum is a nocturnal marsupial. Read more about the Leadbeaters Possum Quokka The Quokka is another one of our cute Australian animals. The Quokka is a small marsupial like the Tree Kangaroo or small Wallaby, but unlike other Wallabies, it has a short stiff tail and short hind feet. Its ears are more rounded than those of other Wallabies, and its skull and teeth are different.

Quokkas are found on Rottnest Island off the coast of Western Australia, where they are plentiful, they are also found in small groups on the mainland in the southwest of Western Australia. Read more about the Quokka Quoll The Quoll or native cat is a carnivorous marsupial native to Australia and Papua New Guinea and looks a bit like a cross between a cat and a possum. Four species of Quoll can be found in Australia: the Northern Quoll, the Spotted-tailed Quoll, the Eastern Quoll and the Western Quoll. The Spotted-tailed Quoll is the largest carnivorous marsupial found on the mainland of Australia. Read more about the Quoll Rabbits in Australia Rabbits in Australia started to multiply alarmingly after Thomas Austin released 24 on his property in Victoria in 1859. Within 10 years the original 24 Rabbits had increased so much that two million could be shot or trapped yearly without having any apparent effect on the population. It was the fastest recorded spread of a mammal anywhere in the world. Today Rabbits are located in the southern and central areas of Australia, with random populations in the northern desert regions.

Read more about Australian Rabbits Australian Sea Lion The Australian Sea Lion inhabits the ocean around Australia, and nowhere else. Sea Lions, like Seals, are 'pinnipeds', which means 'fin foot'. They are marine mammals, which are able to swim in extremely cold water. Along with fur-seals, sea-lions belong to the eared seal family, they are different from true seals because they have external ears, and they are more agile on the land and move through the water using their front flippers. Read more about the Sea Lion Great White Shark Great White Sharks live in coastal and offshore waters which have a water temperature of between 12 degrees and 24 degrees Celsius. In Australia they have been recorded from southern Queensland to northwestern Western Australia. The Great White Shark belongs to the group of Mackerel Shark. Read more about the Great White Shark Australian Snakes Snakes are found all over Australia. There are about 140 species of land snakes in Australia. About 100 snakes in Australia are venomous, of these 12 are more likely to be life threatening if you are bitten.

A venomous snake is a snake that uses modified saliva, venom, delivered through fangs in its mouth, to immobilize or kill its prey. The deadliest snakes found in Australia include Brown Snakes, Death Adders, Red-bellied Black Snakes, Taipan Snakes, Copperheads, and Tiger Snakes. Snakes vary in size and weight, although they have the same basic body structure. Read more about Australian Snakes Tasmanian Devil The Tasmanian Devil as their name suggests are now found only in the state of Tasmania. They can run up to 13 km per hour for short distances. Tasmanian Devils are the largest carnivorous marsupial in Australia. Read more about the Tasmanian Devil Hairy Nosed Wombat Hairy-nosed Wombats like all Wombats are not seen as often as some other Australian animals. Nicknamed the bulldozer of the bush for its burrowing. The Koala is their closest relative. The Wombat is a marsupial. Read more about the Hairy Nosed Wombat One of our Tiny Australian Animals ... The Ant This Ant Poem was written by our Mother. Mother used to sit and watch the ants quite often ...

she loved to watch them building or carrying food to and from their nest. Ants is one of our favourite little poems. Ant Poem Numbat Facts - Facts About Numbats - YouTube Numbat Facts - Facts About Numbats Want to watch this again later? Sign in to add this video to a playlist. Need to report the video? Sign in to report inappropriate content. The interactive transcript could not be loaded. Loading... Rating is available when the video has been rented. This feature is not available right now. Please try again later. Published on Jan 14, 2014 Numbat Facts - Facts About Numbats - Please take a moment to Like, Subscribe, and Comment on this video!

View Our Channel To See More Cool Videos About Animals - numbat facts and information numbat facts wikipedia australian numbat facts numbat facts and information numbat facts wikipedia australia fun facts for kids 10 facts about australia 10 interesting facts about australia interesting australian facts interesting facts of new york facts about australian animals information about australia for kids interesting facts on australia australia fun facts for kids 10 facts about australia 10 interesting facts about australia interesting australian facts interesting facts of new york facts about australian animals information about australia for kids interesting facts on australia australia information and facts Numbat Facts - Facts About Numbats The Numbat is a unique pouchless marsupial. It is a small (35-45 cm) animal with a reddish brown coat which blends from darker shades on the back to light on the stomach. Across the back are prominent white bands Mating occurs during the summer months and the young are born 14 days later. The female usually has 4 babies, which attach themselves to teats and cling to body hair. They will suckle for 6 months.

Numbat Facts - Facts About Numbats Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Dasyuromorphia Family: Myrmecobiidae Genus: Myrmecobius Species: Myrmecobius fasciatus The numbat is Western Australia's mammal emblem, a fact which may have saved the species from extinction. Only a few years ago numbats were critically endangered, but CALM researchers have established 101AnimalFacts 101AnimalFacts Numbat Facts - Facts About Numbats Category

Question: The 'Numbat' is a small mammal native to which country?
Answer: AUSTRALIA